Dubai's Al Maktoum airport expansion delayed until 2030 - govt | Reuters:
A major expansion of Dubai’s second airport Al Maktoum International will open in 2030, the emirate’s government said, five years later than officials had previously indicated.
The airport will be able to handle 130 million passengers a year when the first phase of a planned expansion opens in 2030, and ultimately more than 260 million passengers a year, the statement, released by the Dubai government’s media office on Thursday, said.
Dubai officials had previously said the first phase would open by 2025. The Dubai government media office could not immediately be reached outside working hours on Friday for comment on the reason for the delay.
Friday, 19 October 2018
What the Permian Oil Boom Looks Like - Bloomberg
What the Permian Oil Boom Looks Like - Bloomberg: The first clear indication that I had entered an area experiencing an oil boom was the Halliburton Co. office with a “Now Hiring” sign out front on the north side of Artesia, New Mexico. Next came a couple of equipment rental places with some unfamiliar-looking equipment on their lots, then the first of what were to be many billboards advertising personal injury lawyers specializing in oilfield injuries and truck accidents (“$5.2 Million: Oilfield Explosion, Burn Injury” read one that I saw a little later from the Albuquerque law firm of Glasheen, Valles & Inderman). Tanker car after tanker car after tanker car sat on the railroad tracks to the left of the road, followed by what I eventually realized were lots of cars for hauling sand. Behind the railcars, I began to see the outlines of what appeared to be a giant refinery complex.
Artesia is at the northwestern edge of what is known as the Permian Basin, named for the geologic period that came right before the Triassic and the Jurassic (which, as a childhood dinosaur fanatic, I find useful as context) and left a whole lot of marine organic matter across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico that spent the next 252 million years turning into oil and natural gas. Humans drilled the first successful oil well in the Texas part of the Permian in 1921, and the first big New Mexico strike came in 1928.
Artesia is at the northwestern edge of what is known as the Permian Basin, named for the geologic period that came right before the Triassic and the Jurassic (which, as a childhood dinosaur fanatic, I find useful as context) and left a whole lot of marine organic matter across West Texas and southeastern New Mexico that spent the next 252 million years turning into oil and natural gas. Humans drilled the first successful oil well in the Texas part of the Permian in 1921, and the first big New Mexico strike came in 1928.
Anti-money-laundering body gives Iran until February to complete reforms | Reuters
Anti-money-laundering body gives Iran until February to complete reforms | Reuters:
The international group that monitors money laundering worldwide said on Friday Iran had until February to complete reforms that would bring it into line with global norms or face consequences.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force said after a meeting of its members that it was disappointed that Tehran had acted on only nine out of 10 of its guidelines despite pledges to make the grade.
“We expect Iran to move swiftly to implement the commitments that it undertook at a high level so long ago,” said Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. assistant Treasury Secretary for terrorist financing, after chairing an FATF meeting.
The international group that monitors money laundering worldwide said on Friday Iran had until February to complete reforms that would bring it into line with global norms or face consequences.
The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force said after a meeting of its members that it was disappointed that Tehran had acted on only nine out of 10 of its guidelines despite pledges to make the grade.
“We expect Iran to move swiftly to implement the commitments that it undertook at a high level so long ago,” said Marshall Billingslea, the U.S. assistant Treasury Secretary for terrorist financing, after chairing an FATF meeting.
Saudi conference boycott over Khashoggi shows political threat to economy | Reuters
Saudi conference boycott over Khashoggi shows political threat to economy | Reuters:
A Western boycott of a major business conference in Riyadh next week suggests rising political risks in Saudi Arabia could harm its ambitions to attract foreign capital and diversify its economy away from oil.
Rather than whipping up interest in Saudi investment opportunities, the event risks becoming a public relations debacle because of the disappearance of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, company executives and analysts say.
Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia denies this.
A Western boycott of a major business conference in Riyadh next week suggests rising political risks in Saudi Arabia could harm its ambitions to attract foreign capital and diversify its economy away from oil.
Rather than whipping up interest in Saudi investment opportunities, the event risks becoming a public relations debacle because of the disappearance of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, company executives and analysts say.
Turkish officials have said Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia denies this.
Fed monitoring Khashoggi case, potential oil market impact: Bostic | Reuters
Fed monitoring Khashoggi case, potential oil market impact: Bostic | Reuters:
U.S. Federal Reserve officials are monitoring the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the possibility that any sanctions against Saudi Arabia could disrupt oil markets, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Friday.
Asked about the risks to the U.S. economic outlook at a community group lunch in Macon, Georgia, Bostic mentioned geopolitical risks generally, the Brexit talks and “the Saudi Arabian situation and the question about whether what happened to that journalist is going to lead to sanctions that could impact oil markets.”
His comments, the first by a U.S. central banker about the case, reflect how it has escalated from a diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia and Turkey to an international incident with the potential to roil financial markets.
U.S. Federal Reserve officials are monitoring the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the possibility that any sanctions against Saudi Arabia could disrupt oil markets, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said on Friday.
Asked about the risks to the U.S. economic outlook at a community group lunch in Macon, Georgia, Bostic mentioned geopolitical risks generally, the Brexit talks and “the Saudi Arabian situation and the question about whether what happened to that journalist is going to lead to sanctions that could impact oil markets.”
His comments, the first by a U.S. central banker about the case, reflect how it has escalated from a diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia and Turkey to an international incident with the potential to roil financial markets.
As Khashoggi crisis grows, Saudi king asserts authority, checks son's power: sources | Reuters
As Khashoggi crisis grows, Saudi king asserts authority, checks son's power: sources | Reuters:
So grave is the fallout from the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that King Salman has felt compelled to intervene, five sources with links to the Saudi royal family said.
Last Thursday, Oct. 11, the king dispatched his most trusted aide, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of Mecca, to Istanbul to try to defuse the crisis.
World leaders were demanding an explanation and concern was growing in parts of the royal court that the king’s son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to whom he has delegated vast powers, was struggling to contain the fallout, the sources said.
So grave is the fallout from the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that King Salman has felt compelled to intervene, five sources with links to the Saudi royal family said.
Last Thursday, Oct. 11, the king dispatched his most trusted aide, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of Mecca, to Istanbul to try to defuse the crisis.
World leaders were demanding an explanation and concern was growing in parts of the royal court that the king’s son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to whom he has delegated vast powers, was struggling to contain the fallout, the sources said.
Khashoggi affair unlikely to derail Saudi Arabia index inclusion | Financial Times
Khashoggi affair unlikely to derail Saudi Arabia index inclusion | Financial Times:
Does alleged extrajudicial death by dismemberment have any bearing on investment decisions? It’s not a question you hear every day, but it is one investors will have to address in the approach to Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in emerging market equity indices next year.
The inclusions seem certain to go ahead. A spokesperson for FTSE Russell, which will add Saudi equities to its Emerging All Cap Index from March, to a weight of 2.88 per cent, said that in the light of the Khashoggi affair it had nothing to add to its decision, taken in March this year.
MSCI, which will add Saudi Arabia to its Emerging Markets index from May, to a weight of 2.6 per cent, declined to comment.
Does alleged extrajudicial death by dismemberment have any bearing on investment decisions? It’s not a question you hear every day, but it is one investors will have to address in the approach to Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in emerging market equity indices next year.
The inclusions seem certain to go ahead. A spokesperson for FTSE Russell, which will add Saudi equities to its Emerging All Cap Index from March, to a weight of 2.88 per cent, said that in the light of the Khashoggi affair it had nothing to add to its decision, taken in March this year.
MSCI, which will add Saudi Arabia to its Emerging Markets index from May, to a weight of 2.6 per cent, declined to comment.
Saudi Arabia must be held accountable | Financial Times
Saudi Arabia must be held accountable | Financial Times:
There have been moments in history when great leaders have found it necessary to overlook heinous crimes in order to preserve strategic alliances and further greater interests. The alleged killing of Jamal Khashoggi is not one of those moments.
The prominent Saudi commentator has not been seen since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul more than two weeks ago. Details leaked by Turkish officials suggest that he was killed shortly afterwards in the most blood-curdling manner. If Turkish accounts prove accurate — and officials have claimed to have audio, video and other evidence to back them up — there can be no holding of noses. For all Saudi Arabia’s geo-strategic clout, the consequences must be serious.
Western countries have stood united in castigating President Vladimir Putin for Russia’s attempted murder of the former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter on UK soil. They acted in unison to sanction Moscow even before evidence established the Kremlin’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The west must be equally resolute in responding to Riyadh if their agents are found responsible for Mr Khashoggi’s murder, if Saudi guilt is confirmed. To do otherwise would be to invite autocrats across the world to bump off their critics and avert any blow-back with improbable alibis.
There have been moments in history when great leaders have found it necessary to overlook heinous crimes in order to preserve strategic alliances and further greater interests. The alleged killing of Jamal Khashoggi is not one of those moments.
The prominent Saudi commentator has not been seen since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul more than two weeks ago. Details leaked by Turkish officials suggest that he was killed shortly afterwards in the most blood-curdling manner. If Turkish accounts prove accurate — and officials have claimed to have audio, video and other evidence to back them up — there can be no holding of noses. For all Saudi Arabia’s geo-strategic clout, the consequences must be serious.
Western countries have stood united in castigating President Vladimir Putin for Russia’s attempted murder of the former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter on UK soil. They acted in unison to sanction Moscow even before evidence established the Kremlin’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The west must be equally resolute in responding to Riyadh if their agents are found responsible for Mr Khashoggi’s murder, if Saudi guilt is confirmed. To do otherwise would be to invite autocrats across the world to bump off their critics and avert any blow-back with improbable alibis.
Suddenly Toxic, Saudi Prince Is Shunned by Investors He Courted - Bloomberg
Suddenly Toxic, Saudi Prince Is Shunned by Investors He Courted - Bloomberg:
He was the man who sold the world on his vision of a Saudi economy no longer dependent on oil.
Now Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could become the biggest risk to his own project. Everything changed when Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and didn’t come out. Allegations rapidly spread that the Washington-based journalist was murdered by a hit team sent from Riyadh. And suspicion naturally fell on the oil-rich kingdom’s de facto ruler, the 33-year-old heir to the throne.
Prince Mohammed, who’s denied any knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate, still has his defenders -– notably Donald Trump. The U.S. president and his top diplomat have cautioned against putting America’s decades-old Saudi alliance at risk while they await the results of a Saudi investigation. But that’s in sharp contrast to a growing chorus of outrage, putting pressure on the White House to act. In Congress, lawmakers from Trump’s own party denounced the prince personally and demanded sanctions.
He was the man who sold the world on his vision of a Saudi economy no longer dependent on oil.
Now Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could become the biggest risk to his own project. Everything changed when Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and didn’t come out. Allegations rapidly spread that the Washington-based journalist was murdered by a hit team sent from Riyadh. And suspicion naturally fell on the oil-rich kingdom’s de facto ruler, the 33-year-old heir to the throne.
Prince Mohammed, who’s denied any knowledge of Khashoggi’s fate, still has his defenders -– notably Donald Trump. The U.S. president and his top diplomat have cautioned against putting America’s decades-old Saudi alliance at risk while they await the results of a Saudi investigation. But that’s in sharp contrast to a growing chorus of outrage, putting pressure on the White House to act. In Congress, lawmakers from Trump’s own party denounced the prince personally and demanded sanctions.
Oil Set for Weekly Loss as Supplies Allay Saudi Arabia Tensions - Bloomberg
Oil Set for Weekly Loss as Supplies Allay Saudi Arabia Tensions - Bloomberg:
Oil headed for a weekly loss as plentiful supplies helped offset worries that tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. over the disappearance of a journalist could lead to the use of crude production as a political weapon.
Futures have lost 3.3 percent in New York this week. Saudi Arabia -- the world’s biggest oil exporter -- issued a veiled threat about using its position as a major crude supplier if the kingdom is punished for the disappearance of critic Jamal Khashoggi. Analysts however doubted the crisis would go that far. Concern receded further as U.S. government data showed crude inventories grew last week by more than double the level analysts forecast.
Oil headed for a weekly loss as plentiful supplies helped offset worries that tensions between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. over the disappearance of a journalist could lead to the use of crude production as a political weapon.
Futures have lost 3.3 percent in New York this week. Saudi Arabia -- the world’s biggest oil exporter -- issued a veiled threat about using its position as a major crude supplier if the kingdom is punished for the disappearance of critic Jamal Khashoggi. Analysts however doubted the crisis would go that far. Concern receded further as U.S. government data showed crude inventories grew last week by more than double the level analysts forecast.
Gulf brokers hit by trading drought | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Gulf brokers hit by trading drought | ZAWYA MENA Edition:
A sharp slowdown in stock trading is hitting the earnings of regional brokerages as investors stay on the sidelines.
Regional political tension, global trade wars, oil price volatility and rising US interest rates have weighed on sentiment across the Gulf region and the trend is reflected in the latest crop of third quarter earnings.
Dubai-listed Al Ramz reported a 65 percent decline in third quarter profit to 4.33 million dirhams ($1.18 million) as commission income tumbled by more than a third.
A sharp slowdown in stock trading is hitting the earnings of regional brokerages as investors stay on the sidelines.
Regional political tension, global trade wars, oil price volatility and rising US interest rates have weighed on sentiment across the Gulf region and the trend is reflected in the latest crop of third quarter earnings.
Dubai-listed Al Ramz reported a 65 percent decline in third quarter profit to 4.33 million dirhams ($1.18 million) as commission income tumbled by more than a third.
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